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Fiction Sports

Papà, Van Basten and Other Superheroes

by (author) Edoardo Maturo

translated by Sándor Anthony Vezér

illustrated by Meredith Wolting

cover design or artwork by Alice Iuri

general editor Claudia Tavernese

prepared for publication by TheWorldofDot

Publisher
Giovan8
Initial publish date
Jun 2021
Category
Sports, Soccer, Soccer, Sports
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781777599904
    Publish Date
    Jun 2021
    List Price
    $22.95

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Where to buy it

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 12 to 18
  • Grade: 7 to 12

Description

A funny, heartwarming and nostalgia-packed story about a fan who, after becoming a father, is trying to teach his son to be an AC Milan fan in a time in which Milan is a shadow of the team the father grew to love. The story is for Milan fans, calcio fans and for everyone who loves the game, including those who support other teams. But since it is not just about calcio, people can also relate to it as a parent, a child, and a person.

About the authors

Contributor Notes

Edoardo is a host on Radio Rossonera, in addition to managing papavanbasten, an online community which includes more than 100,000 people across various social media platforms. Current author for Mondadori and Il Batello a Vapore.

Excerpt: Papà, Van Basten and Other Superheroes (by (author) Edoardo Maturo; translated by Sándor Anthony Vezér; illustrated by Meredith Wolting; cover design or artwork by Alice Iuri; general editor Claudia Tavernese; prepared for publication by TheWorldofDot)

When I set out to write Papà, Van Basten e altri supereroi five years ago, I never thought about how it was going to change my life. First of all, it’s thanks to this book that one of my biggest dreams came true: entering San Siro hand in hand with my son, twenty-seven years after having been there for the first time with my father. And it’s also thanks to this book that I met a lot of wonderful people, including some of my old superheroes.

So where do I begin? It all started when I became a father, and to help put Leonardo to sleep, not knowing anything else, I improvised by humming some chants from the stadium and telling him stories about the epic feats of the champions whose posters covered my bedroom walls as a boy: Van Basten, Baresi, Maldini, Shevchenko, Kaká; in other words, my superheroes. It was my wife Claudia’s fault—who else?—that I started to write what ended up becoming real bedtime stories, in every sense of the word. It was also her fault that I convinced myself to publish this book. And since no publishing house was willing to show any faith in me back then, I decided to show faith in people, and I ended up with a crowdfunding campaign that tripled its initial fundraising goal.

Since then, to be honest, all of the overwhelming affection for this book has made it difficult to remember many of the beautiful things that have happened to me. It’s as if a bomb exploded in my hands. My inbox started to fill on a daily basis with messages from all over the world (Italy, England, Australia, USA. One day, a man even wrote to me all the way from Mongolia!), and everyone would tell me the same thing: that they recognized themselves in my book as a father, a son, a fan and a person, and that my book is not just about calcio, but about each and every one of us. It is the story of everyone who loves the game. In fact, over the years, Papà, Van Basten e altri supereroi has also become the name of a community, boasting more than 100,000 people across various social media platforms.

Three years after its first publication, one can say that Papà, Van Basten e altri supereroi is no longer just a book, and it is especially not just my book, because it belongs to everyone who has read it, to everyone who believed in it from the beginning, to the kids who dream about becoming a superhero, to all the fathers who wish to pass their allegiances on to their children, to those who love Milan, and lastly, even to those who have different tastes. That’s why I’m happy that today, even Inter and Juve fans can read fairy tales about their own superheroes, thanks to Papà, Zanetti e altri supereroi and Papà, Del Piero e altri supereroi. Five years ago I wrote my story, but it could be any of ours.

Editorial Reviews

Papà, Van Basten and Other Superheroes This was a fun, delightful book to read - Edoardo is an excellent narrator and story teller. The ending made me emotional. I laughed and giggled throughout the book, and then I cried a little too. Lovely read.

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